7 Safe Steps For Money Transactions Online

Have you ever felt insecure while making online money transactions? Especially in the light of all kinds of scams that you keep hearing about? Well, same here. Here are a few measures you can follow in order to tame this insecurity and keep your money safe:

1. Secure Connection

Let’s start from the very top. There must be a padlock sign and an “https” in the URL of the site that you are going to use. This signifies that you are on a secure page and chances of a fraud on this particular page are rather less. This isn’t a sure-shot proof but yes, it is one of the mandate checks before proceeding any further with your precious money.

2. Choose Your Passwords Wisely

You must have heard this tip over and over and over again. Have a long password, have an alphanumeric password, never disclose it and so on; but the inevitability of a strong password should never be undermined and hence, I find it needful to mention it again here for you.

In addition, take care that:

Your login passwords for online banking and payment services such as PayPal or the one made available by your bank must never be saved electronically. Keep them in a hard-copy or do the best thing; memorize them.

Don’t save your card/bank account/gateway credentials in your wallet Apps or otherwise on the web. I know it is super difficult to enter that long 16 digit number every other time but believe me, by saving them, you make it super easy for the smart pricks to steal them under your nose.

Use OTP or One Time Password method when completing any online transaction. Most banks have this method as an option. It basically involves sending out an instant code to your registered mobile number which has to be fed to the payment page. It is by far the best practice to make sure that no one else is using your card/ bank account without a real-time consent.

3. Keep Records

So, it was a bank holiday, and you (unwillingly) had to resort to an online bank transfer for the large sum that’s already worrying you. You checked everything and everything was in place. You took a breath of relief as your transaction was successful. Congrats! Now be a wise netizen and save a copy of the transaction. Take a screenshot of the confirmation page, note down the confirmation code, save the bank statement and keep them in a safe drive. All good now.

4. Do Not Trust e-mails

Spam emailing is the fastest growing technique to lead innocent people into the trap of submitting those card details. The bad news is that it has gotten very sophisticated these days. There’s a simple way to avoid this scenario; never open an e-mail from an address or a person that you don’t remember sharing your own email address with. Simple as that. Every email that comes to your mailbox uninvited must be deleted right then and there.

5. Check The Website Before Paying

The internet is huge; so huge that it is rather easy to be fooled by a never-before-heard website which won’t give you a tad bit of doubt that it is malicious. Therefore, always have trust issues with new websites that ask you to pay them. This is very easy to do, by the way. Just Google the website’s name with “review” or “scams” and the search results would verify if your doubts are true or not.

Example:

6. Advanced Step: Use Google Transparency Report

So, visual clues and the best-to-your-knowledge facts are trying to convince you that the site you so want to use is safe, but still, something on the inside says it’s not. Don’t worry, get a step ahead and use Google Transparency Report. It’s a free tool that’ll verify for you if Google approves of the site’s security and 9/10 times, we can trust Google if no one else. Simply enter the concerned site’s address into a textbox and hit enter!

7. Chargeback

Even after all the precautions and warnings, you managed to get yourself lulled by a mastermind website. You regret to pay them your precious money, don’t you? Don’t dive into a depression so soon, there’s still some hope left in your dark world, which is called a chargeback.

Chargeback basically means getting your money back when you have accidentally spent it on an untrustworthy website. Credit Card holders would already be aware of it. You can lodge a chargeback request with your bank if you come to know that you have just been tricked into making a fraudulent transaction or you are suspicious about it. Every bank has its own terms and conditions regarding it. Contact your bank to know more about them ASAP!

I am a techie who learned to write! With a Computer Science Degree and a lot of experience in messing around with technology, I bring real content to the readers of Ionizer.
I happen to be the founding members of the venture, with all-around participation in editorial and research activities.
Apart from the nerd-talk, I write poetry and love watching movies.